Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1887-08-31
MINISTER


The Capitol, a weekly paper published
at Washington, has the following con.
corning a gentleman well known in this
community:
"No paper that I have seen during the
past week has commented on the facts
which have come to light in regard to
MI. Merrill, who represents this Gov.
eminent at Honolulu. 1t is stated that
at a dinner given by an English gentle.
man at Honolulu, at which q number OF
English and United States naval officers
were present, Mr.. Merrill was so en-.
thusiastic that the host felt obliged to
bring the festive occasion to a very
abrupt end. The correspondent who de-
scribes the affair thinks it very unfor-
tunate that just at this juncture, when
a revolution is taking place in the Ha.
waiian Islands, we should be represented
there by a man who is not possessed OF
sufficient self.respect to maintain the
dignity of his office. It seems to be an
other illustration of the folly of letting
politics have anything whatever to do
with our diplomatic service"
The friends of Mr.. Merrill in Nevada
will be sorry to learn that he has been
unable to control his weakness for drink
while occupying SO important q place as
that OF Minister to the Hawaiian Islands.
He was especially fortunate in securing
the position, mainly through the in1u.
ence of Senator Fair, who happened to
be on terms of close friendship with
Secretary Bayard. The appointment
was virtually conceded to Nevada by the
present Administration, because this
State had held the position, in the per-
son of Mr.. Daggett, during the preced'
ing Republican Administration. Col.
Hagerman of Reno and Major Dennis of
Tuscarora were each DESTROYS of the
place, but Senator Fair preferred his
private secretary, Mr.. Merrill. He was
also endorsed by other Nevada and Pa.
cifc Coast men who were sojourning in
Washington at the time. The writer final
ly united with others in recommending
him, but not without some degree Of re.
luctance, and we may frankly add that
we have since regretted having done SO
for at least two reasons: First, we
feared in him a return to habits of ine-
briefly, and secondly, we doubted his
ability for the diplomatic service. It
now transpires that our fears were we'll
grounded in both directions. The first
count is established by the above ex-
tract, and the second is sufficiently man.
ifested in his failure to be heard from
during the recent revolutionary proceed.
ings in the Hawaiian Islands. He had
an opportunity to make for himself a
name and reputation that is accorded to
few men in a lifetime. He should have
enunciated some broad principle Of
American policy regarding the govern
ment and control of those Islands that
would have sent his name laundering
down the history of the ages. In a
word, he should have gotten his "oar
in" even though hegot it in in the wrong
place. The latter would have been
preferable to sleepy inaction-or dumb.
ness would more aptly express it. A
mistake even would have made him
notorious = given him a National
with a big "N") celebrity. He
missed it all, and now it is whispered
among his friends here that he either
has been, or is to be, asked to tender his
resignation. We shall be sorry if the
matter terminates thus; sorry for some
reasons for Merrill, and sorry that the
solitary diplomatic representative taken
from our State by this Administration
proved unequal to the delicate and re-
sponsible duties imposed upon him. As
Q matter of fact, we have always felt
and thought that Merrill should have
been content with a law clerkship in mi
of the Departments at Washington, and
we so stated to Senator Fair prior to his
appointment. Merrill had lett the State
permanently. not having SO much as
voted in Nevada at the election in 1884,
when Mr.. Cleveland was elected to the
Presidency, while both Major Dennis
and Col. Hagerman had been especially
active in their efforts to promote Demo-
cratic success in that campaign. By all
of the rules Of party poll and equity
as we'll, INT of these gentlemen, or some
other representative Nevada Democrat,
should have been selected for the Ha.
waiian mission instead of Geo. w.
Merrill.
1t is not true that all of the veterans